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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25812757">Consequence Of A Fool</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylin3/pseuds/Skylin3'>Skylin3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Decisions, Canon-Typical Violence, Difficult Decisions, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, I will go down with these ship teases, Love, Non-Explicit Sex, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Persona 3 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Possibly Character break-ups, Reunions, persona 5 royal spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:56:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25812757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylin3/pseuds/Skylin3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren Amamiya was certain he had made up his mind in returning reality to its original state. But after Maruki told him of Akechi's fate, he had to wonder if living in this reality was truly that awful. Unlike Yaldaboath, Maruki had proven his genuine intentions of making the world a place where suffering didn't exist. And if that meant that Akechi could live a life where he hadn't committed his crimes and live a peaceful existence, who did Ren think he was to take that away from him? Even if Akechi disagreed and hated him for it, Ren knew that one day Akechi would understand. If only Ren knew that by enabling Maruki, he was dooming the world to a much grimmer fate — one where a beast hungered for death to be delivered. Maybe then he would've seen that one life wasn't worth billions.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Arisato Minato/Takeba Yukari, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist, Persona 3 Protagonist/Takeba Yukari, Takeba Yukari/Yuuki Makoto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prolouge - Maruki's Ambition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Maruki was hard at work with his research paper. He finally had what he needed to achieve his dream reality, and it was all thanks in no small part to Ren Amamiya - Shujin's supposed delinquent transfer student. After taking a break he stumbles upon an interview that gives him a new idea for his reality - one idea that another woman would be happy to benefit from.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi there! Glad this piqued your interest! This first chapter is relatively short and it's serving as a sample for what's to come. More on that in the endnotes! </p><p>I'm super excited to get this project rolling to the point where I may have 1 or 2 chapters getting close to being fully written out! I'm aiming for a biweekly update schedule with the only exception being the "first" chapter, which will be out in just a few days!</p><p>I have a lot more to say, but I'll save it for the end, for now, I hope you enjoy this new piece!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>December 20th, 2016</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Night, Maruki's Apartment</b>
</p><hr/><p>Clicking noises permeated the room as Maruki typed on the keyboard's surface. He finally had what he needed to finish his paper on cognitive psience and prove to the world that he was right about his research. So many months of struggling to understand why financial support for his research had been suddenly stripped away were finally coming to a close. The college Maruki worked for, blamed it on a lack of evidence, and ceased all funding. He was treated like a fool for wanting to help the masses… But no more, he was finally going to create a world full of happiness; a world in which suffering didn’t exist. And all it took was the support of the supposed delinquent transfer student of Shujin Academy - Ren Amamiya. </p><p>Maruki had spent various long sessions discussing his ideas with Ren. Each time Maruki had a new hypothesis, Ren’s answer would intrigue him beyond the teenager’s understanding. Their perspectives on many subjects regarding cognitive psience seemed to always align, although Maruki had to wonder if it was because Ren had been wronged as well. Rumors of Ren’s delinquency spread like wildfire throughout the campus, making him out to be some violent irredeemable criminal. And yet when Maruki spent time with him, he found the complete opposite; he found a gentle boy who’s only desire was to ensure that no one else was put in his situation. </p><p>It helped that he just so happened to stumble upon him and his friends manifesting out of thin air one random afternoon after school. They had directly proven to him the existence of that other world, the one the late Wakaba referred to as Mementos. A place where the dreams of people’s hearts took physical form. And so he wanted to give Ren his wish, after all, it’s what he and his friends deserved. Not to mention that they were the last piece to the puzzle he had to solve, the piece that would reveal itself once he finished his paper.</p><p>“Just a few more sentences…” Maruki whispered to himself, continuing to type quickly. “Now put this here… this part here…  And done! I did it!”</p><p>Maruki stared at his computer screen and let out a sigh of relief. He sat in his chair and stretched out his arms, allowing himself a moment of relaxation. He looked to the remote near his computer.</p><p>“I think I earned a little break.  Let’s see what’s on the news…” He clicked on the remote, bringing the screen to life as the image settled in the rectangular box. “Oh? It’s an interview,” he said to himself.</p><p>“Welcome viewers! Tonight we have a special guest! She’s a famous actress who’s still relatively new to the scene, please welcome Yukari Takeba!” The TV host’s voice was followed by a wave of cheers and applause for the actress.</p><p>Yukari walked on stage, waving casually to the viewers in the audience before taking her seat next to the show’s host. The interviewer asked question after question, none of which seemed to catch Maruki’s interest all that much. They were all about her lifestyle, and the latest gossip in terms of competition with other actresses. Bored, Maruki was getting ready to change the channel when a particular question caught his attention.</p><p>“So, Ms. Takeba, rumor has it that you’re in a relationship now? Would it be too much trouble to enlighten us on the matter?” The host asked with a smirk.</p><p>“Now there’s one I haven’t heard in a while,” Yukari scoffed in a teasing manner. “What even sparked this ‘rumor?’” </p><p>“Well, there’s the ring on your hand right there,” the host pointed to her finger.</p><p>Yukari giggled, interrupting the host, “Let me stop you right there. No, I’m not in a relationship, and frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever be in one again,” she spoke confidently before she directed her attention to the audience. “This ring is special to me and it’s from someone who I love.”</p><p>“Erm… Ms. Takeba wouldn’t that put you in a relationship? I don’t seem to quite understand…”</p><p>Yukari shook her head, “Nope. The person I love is no longer with us, unfortunately. But he gave me this ring a long time ago, it’s a promise ring of sorts,” she said, looking down fondly at the ring. “The reason I even decided to become an actress was to inspire hope in children and bring smiles to their faces. It’s my promise that I swore to keep before he passed away. But, I guess you could also say it’s my way of showing him that I’m doing okay. And that’s all there really is to it,” she giggled gleefully.</p><p>The crowd let out a collective “Aww,” leaving the host stunned and in complete silence. </p><p>Though Maruki found the sentiment to be touching, he had a frown on his face. He pushed his glasses along the bridge of his nose. His eyes had a serious expression about them as he continued to look at the actress from the screen. Though there was a clear sense of love in her eyes, he could also feel a hint of sadness and longing radiating from them. It was the sort of thing that, to most people, would go unnoticed. But years of experience with helping others cope with their emotions — he knew. He knew what she was hiding from them; what she truly felt deep down inside her heart. It didn’t matter how much time passed, the death of someone so important to anyone was not something that was easily dealt away with. No, it didn’t matter how much any person said they’ve grown or moved on, that lingering feeling of wanting that special someone at your side would always remain.</p><p>Part of why he even gained the power and evidence to create his perfect world was because he too lost someone so near and dear to him. Not to death, but to a tragic incident that left her completely and utterly broken. Her name was Rumi, the woman of his life, they were set to get married soon, but those plans had changed. And it didn’t matter how much he tried to do for her, she simply didn’t want him around anymore. So in a way, it was like she was dead regardless of what he felt towards her. That’s why he had to see his world become the new reality, even if in that world she still rejected him, the sole accomplishment that he could be the one to rid her of her trauma would be enough to satisfy him.</p><p>So when he turned to look at Yukari again through the small TV, he knew he had to bring back that person. And the best part? Maruki didn’t even need to know the individual, all he needed was Yukari’s lingering desire and the rest would work itself out.</p><p>“He’ll be back, I can promise you that much,” he told her, clearly not expecting to see her reaction through the TV. “No one should have to suffer the loss of losing those most important to them. In my reality, everyone will have what they want most, I will bring them true happiness. Rest assured that it will include you too, Ms. Takeba.”</p><p>Maruki turned off the TV and shifted in his seat before facing his computer again. He immediately got to work on editing his paper. He was going to see this through; he was going to make sure that his reality came to be. A faint chuckle escaped his lips as it filled the room, bringing life to the otherwise quiet space.</p><p>“By this time on the 24th, my reality will be born.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Listen, angst es muy bueno okay?</p><p>Also, because of how Ao3 works, I couldn't exactly call this Chapter 0 or the prologue so it's in the title instead. That's also why this first one is really short! I wanted to give a small sample for the idea before I release the "real" chapter 1. So from now just assume that this is Chapter 0, and the next one is Chapter 1 and so on. </p><p>On to the more exciting stuff, this fic is a cross-over for P3 and P5. I know some have already dedicated themselves to this kind of theme/topic so I'll give you what exactly changes from here, but I wanted to do my own spin on it, especially since I haven't done much Royal content except allude to certain things in more recent works.</p><p>Next, I'd like to let you know that there are a few ship teases I'm going to implement throughout, but I have not tagged them for obvious reasons. I don't like baiting my readers with their favorite ship only to get one piece of dialogue. I'd much rather they be a nice pleasant surprise throughout the story.</p><p>Moving on, this project is actually a revival of an old one I had posted here before I deleted it. Some of you may recognize the title "Ren's Regret" and while the basis for that one is similar in that the bad ending takes precedent and drives the plot forward, these will play out differently. Back then, I didn't really have a solid outline, or at least I did, but to me, it wasn't written the way I wanted.</p><p>Anyway, that's all I have for now. Have a great rest of your day/night! Until the next chapter, see ya!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Fool's Decision</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Maruki has come to Ren directly for an answer on his offer. After moments of silence, he decides to leave him be because regardless of how long Ren takes, Maruki still plans to move forward with his ideal reality.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Now that I think about I feel the initial summary for this story might have given some of you the impression that this might hint at ShuAke, and I rather let it be known that it won't. I personally prefer their dynamic as rivals, and what you'll see that in this chapter isn't exactly that, but more so Ren being Ren. I like to HC him as the type to put others before himself, I know that's a popular one so that's what I do too. In this chapter, Ren is a bit more emotional I suppose, and I think that's what I want to stick with unless there's a reason for him to be more relaxed and/or more vibrant. </p><p>Anyway, I rather not stay and end up spoiling the chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter and hope you look forward to the rest! Remember that this chapter is the only one that won't follow my biweekly update schedule, all other chapters after this one will!</p><p>EDIT 8/25/2020: I went ahead and rewrote some parts of the beginning while also removing some parts that I felt were just fluff and unnecessary to the narrative as a whole. There's another part towards the latter half that also got a bit of reworking. I mostly did these because after having a few days to reflect, I don't think the original parts were executed well and felt very contrived/ooc (out of character) for some. However, I do think this new version of the chapter is much better now! With that, I leave to read this chapter again or if you're new here you can read it for the first time! See ya!</p><p>EDIT: 11/29/20 The ending was modified in terms having some things removed. It was mostly the forced aging up since in the end it sounded more convoluted than it needed to be. So I've kept it as just Minato coming back as an adult from the start.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>February 2nd, 2017</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Night, Cafe Leblanc</strong>
</p><hr/><p>"I'm going to ask you one last time: Will you accept the reality I created for you?" Maruki asked. His words hung in the air as a deafening silence crept in throughout Leblanc. </p><p>Maruki saw the way Ren furrowed his eyebrows. He could tell the young teen was in deep thought, though he had to wonder if that was just the facade Ren was putting up. It didn't matter to Maruki one way or the other since he still planned to move forward regardless of Ren's decision. He then looked to Akechi as well, who scorned him with an intense glare. He could tell that neither of them wanted to give him an answer just yet. He let out a sigh full of disappointment before rising from his seat and heading towards the exit of the cafe.</p><p>"Perhaps I shouldn't be asking for an answer on the spot like that. I'll be going now." Maruki said.</p><p>As Maruki opened the cafe’s door he bumped into a red-haired girl with glasses in a bright red trench coat. It was Sumire Yoshizawa, the girl he had been assigned to treat after her sister’s unfortunate passing. Although these days, she was a lot colder to him and usually treated their encounters with caution. “There’s no need to be afraid, Yoshizawa-san, I’m not going to do anything. I just came by for a chat with these two about their final decision,” Maruki said with a gentle smile.</p><p>Sumire ignored him and sped past him into the warmer atmosphere of Leblanc. Maruki was initially stunned but quickly recovered as he shook his head and left the cafe without another word.</p><p>When Ren finally decided to look up again, he found Sumire looking at him directly. The look she gave him was demanding answers, but all he could feel was his heart sink as he looked away from her.</p><p>Sumire saw his eyes move away from her. Confused, she turned to Akechi, but she was still met with silence. "Senpai? Akechi-kun? What's going on?" She dared to ask. "That was Dr. Maruki just now. What happened, why won't you two tell me?" Neither of them spoke. All Sumire heard was a scoff coming from Akechi and still silence from Ren. Something was bothering them clearly, but she wondered what Maruki had done to bring them to this point. </p><p>"I don't know what to do…" Ren finally answered. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly.</p><p>"You idiot," Akechi whispered under his breath, low enough that neither Ren nor Sumire heard him. He grew even more disgusted with Ren as each moment of silence passed on. It was like staring at an empty wall; it was maddening.</p><p>Unlike Ren, Akechi had always been alone, with no one to rely on truly. No friends, no mentors, and no family; not even his mother, who took her life because she felt incapable of giving Akechi a better life than the one he had as a child. So to see Ren struggle with the decision to restore reality made him envious of the Phantom Thief leader. Akechi wished he could be as selfish as Ren was right now, but another part of him just wanted some sense of control in the decision.</p><p>The reason why he wanted to so desperately break free from this reality was that he was tired of his future being decided for him. He had been blinded by revenge under Shido’s care, used as a chess piece in some game crafted by a malevolent god, and now a doctor who thinks he can make everyone happy by altering reality for everyone. He was sick of it, he wanted to take back control of his life, even if that meant turning himself in, and spending the rest of his days behind bars. At least then it was his choice to make and not someone else’s.</p><p>“I’ll carve a path for myself…” Akechi said, finally breaking the silence in the small cafe.</p><p>Both Ren and Sumire looked at him, surprised and confused by what he meant. Ren tried to ask him, but before he could, Akechi cut him off.</p><p>“I refuse to accept a reality concocted by someone else, stuck under their control for the rest of my days,” he said, turning to meet Ren’s worried gaze. “Don’t give me that stupid look! You of all people should understand why I want to end this. All you have to do is stick to your guns and challenge Maruki. Or are you so spineless that you would fold over some bullshit trivial threat on my life?”</p><p>Ren’s face contorted in anger, glaring at Akechi, “Don’t oversimplify this! It’s more than just your life! What about the others?! Did you forget what you did to Wakaba, to Okumura? They were alive! You can’t take away our only chance to bring them back!” Ren protested, clenching his teeth tightly.</p><p>“Oh, but it IS simple. Do you think that I would be happy with this? Being shown mercy now of all times?!" Akechi raised his voice against Ren.  "Besides, I can’t take away what isn’t there, Ren. They’re gone. The ones you saw were merely replicas, just like myself…”</p><p>“But still…” Ren tried to argue, but he found himself unable to utter words stuck in his throat.</p><p>“Akechi, that’s not true…” Sumire whispered to herself. </p><p>She watched as the tensions between them rose higher and higher. The more the argument continued, the more she felt like siding with Akechi. Not just because she wanted to see reality restored, but she could tell that something was bothering him; it was almost as if he was trapped but refused to admit it to them. Much like the other phantom thieves, she too was stuck in a false reality where she believed she was her sister Kasumi all along. It wasn’t until Ren and Akechi came to save her that she decided to stop Maruki’s plans. Ren had told her that she had to stop running from the truth, to live on as Sumire and not Kasumi. In her mind, it didn’t make sense for Ren to change his mind suddenly. It made her angry with him. She wanted to slap some sense into the supposed leader of the phantom thieves, but she was cut off by Akechi.</p><p>“I don’t want to be pitied—this isn’t something I’m debating with you!” Akechi hissed as his mouth formed into a scowl. “Your indecisiveness on the matter is essentially a betrayal of my wishes… I want to hear you say it aloud. What do you intend to do?” The way he asked his question left no room for Ren to counter him.</p><p>Once again, silence resumed as Ren struggled to come to terms with an answer. The answer seemed obvious; he should choose to save Akechi and give him a second chance at life. But another part of him wondered if his friends would genuinely be happy with the decision to leave Maruki's reality. Could he really take away everyone’s wishes like that? To force his friends to go back to reality where they were forced to be miserable at some point?</p><p>Even if his friends accepted to move on and work together to restore their reality, Ren couldn’t stand to do it at the expense of someone’s life. Had he known that that was the condition, he would’ve sided with Maruki the first time. When Yaldabaoth asked Ren the same question, he refused because of the false god’s true intentions to wipe out all of humanity. But Maruki’s intentions? They were genuine. That man wanted nothing more than to see everyone happy in his ideal world, and Ren had proof of that from the one month had he spent in this new reality. And even if everything wasn’t real, was it that awful to live such a blissful lie?</p><p>Akechi had been tapping his foot impatiently as he looked again to Ren, “I won’t wait a moment longer. Answer me.” </p><p>Ren’s face was solemn as he relocked his gaze on Akechi. He knew his answer now,  “I’m sorry, Akechi. We’re taking Maruki’s offer,” his voice was calm as he finished his sentence.</p><p>Akechi’s eye twitched at that moment. He pulled on his gloved hand, clenching his fist while doing so, “Are you serious?”</p><p>“I am serious…” Ren answered matter-of-factly.</p><p>A sigh escaped Akechi’s lips as he looked down, “...Well, I have your answer.” He turned his back to Ren before looking back one last time. “There’s nothing more I can say… our deal is off.”</p><p>Akechi walked away from Ren. The sound of the bell chiming at the entrance came as Akechi left the small cafe. Ren was trembling where he stood. Doubt had begun to settle itself in his head. “Did I really make the right decision?” he asked himself. </p><p>“No, you didn’t senpai,” Sumire finally spoke, catching Ren off guard. “Akechi depended on you, and you let him down! You promised me that you would help me face my situation! So why didn’t you help him too?! Why are you going back on your word?! What changed?!” her tears were hot as they stung the edges of her eyelids. “You’re not the senpai, I know!” Sumire grabbed her belongings and left the cafe in a hurry.</p><p>“Sumire, wait!” Ren tried to run after her, but the door was slammed shut. He pulled back his hand from the door. “Great…” He was biting his lip, suppressing the grunts he was making. He slammed his fist on one of the tables angrily before looking towards the staircase.</p><p>Ren went upstairs to his room quietly, trying his best to get over what had just happened to him. He couldn’t believe them for thinking that he was selfish for wanting them and his friends to be happy and live normal lives. Ren couldn’t help but let out a small baffled grunt before plopping himself onto his bed as he arrived in his room. He looked at his phone, the time on it read 10:30 P.M. as he checked his notifications. There were several messages from the group chat asking what the outcome with Maruki had been. He didn't answer them, feeling that they would scold him for his choice. He set the phone flat on his chest while putting his arm underneath his head to rest. For a moment, there was silence, with the only thing making noise being the heater he kept close to his bed. </p><p>He wondered why the Akechi and Sumire couldn’t see it his way, and even if they did, why did they still go against him? He knew asking himself that question was pointless now; however, he still wanted to know.</p><p>He laid in bed, unable to think of what to do next, a part of him wanted to cry, another wanted to hit something. He was too mentally exhausted to be his usual self right now.</p><p>He welcomed the fatigue that kept creeping up on him, allowing himself to fall into a deep slumber. He just wanted to forget that this day had even happened, to be happy like how Maruki had intended it.</p><hr/><p>It seemed like the night had gone rather quickly as Ren suddenly found himself awake, standing behind Leblanc’s counter. His vision felt hazy as his half-lidded eyes were slowly adjusting themselves to the scene in front of him. When everything finally cleared up, he was greeted by all of his friends sitting in the booths. His girlfriend Makoto was right next to him as she looked towards the others. However, much to his surprise Akechi and Sumire were there as well. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, but when he looked again, they were indeed there.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Sojiro called out to him. “You seem a little out of it.”</p><p>Ren turned to see Sojiro's worried face. He felt puzzled as to why concern had fallen on him when both Akechi and Sumire were present. The very people who disagreed and walked out on him angrily. Still, he didn’t think it was wise to bring that up as everyone looked to be enjoying themselves from what he could tell. It would ruin the mood of their lively gathering. Instead, he looked at Sojiro again.</p><p>“Why’s everyone here?” he asked.</p><p>“What do you mean, ‘why is everyone here?’ You invited them yourself,” Sojiro chuckled. “Come on, Mister Party Planner, wake up.”</p><p><em> “I invited them?” </em> Ren thought to himself. He would’ve asked Sojiro what he meant, but his thoughts were interrupted by Futaba talking to Sumire. </p><p>“Y’know something hit me a while back… We're the same age, Kasumi. You don’t have to be so polite to me,” Futaba said with a casual smile.</p><p>“Oh, you’re right…” Kasumi looked at Futaba in surprise before reciprocating the same smile. “But, Futaba-senpai, I still think of you like that.”</p><p>Futaba's face became serious, hearing the red-haired girl speak, “Then as your senpai, I order you to speak to me casually! And no  ‘-senpai’!”</p><p><em> “Kasumi? What’s going on?” </em> Ren asked himself again.</p><p>Futaba and Kasumi continued their attempts to train each other to speak casually. After a while of back and forth, it seemed like they were finally getting the hang of it. Until she accidentally addressed Futaba as her senpai again. Everyone watched as Kasumi's face became red color before laughing it off. </p><p>Ren still didn’t understand what exactly was going on, but the more he tried to think of solutions, the more he found himself not caring enough to bother with it. The night carried on as Ryuji tried to eat one large sushi roll to get his wish granted, and everyone shared laughs, whether it was Ryuji’s mishaps or Kasumi’s formal behavior. When all was said and done, everyone went home with Makoto being the last one to leave as she gave Ren a farewell kiss.</p><p>Afterward, Ren found himself cleaning Leblanc’s booths and kitchen along with Sojiro. The older man had a curious expression about him as he kept eyeing Ren. It didn’t go unnoticed as Ren curiously turned to him.</p><p>“Something on your mind?” Ren asked him.</p><p>“I’ve been thinking for a while now...  If it’s good with you. And I’ll make sure to talk to your parents about it too. But at least until you’re done with high school and all… ” Sojiro dragged on his question with each passing second. </p><p>Ren couldn’t help but find Sojiro’s struggle amusing, “Just say it already, old man.”</p><p>“R-right, right…” Sojiro nervously wiped away the beads of sweat forming on his temple. “ Would you like to keep staying—” Sojiro continued to speak, but to Ren, it sounded like a distorted, garbled mess. </p><p>He shook his head, feeling that maybe he had just imagined it, “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”</p><p>“I said, would you like to continue staying—” again, Sojiro’s voice was indiscernible to Ren.</p><p>He tried asking again and again, but each time he did, the older man’s voice would just become even more distorted. Ren started to feel an awkward sensation on his chest. </p><p>He looked down at his chest, but nothing was there. When he turned to look back at Sojiro, he was gone. The cafe had seemingly vanished into thin air as well. By the time he noticed, he was standing still in a black space. Soon after, he felt his bodyweight pull him down; he was falling. He tried to stop himself but he kept descending further down into the abyss, hearing voices blaming him for the outcome of today’s events. He covered his ears refusing to listen to any of them, before feeling his body collide with the floor. He opened his eyes to find himself on the ground beside his bed. He felt a cold sweat run down his back as he grabbed his head, feeling rather light-headed from that experience.</p><p>"Was I dreaming?" he said to himself aloud.</p><p>Ren took a moment to take a few deep breaths before looking at his phone and realizing that he had missed a few calls from Makoto. He clicked on her profile and tapped on the green call icon next to it. The phone immediately began to dial her number. He waited as the dial sounds rang, he wondered about what he was going to even tell her. Before he could even think of that, however, the line had connected. He made an audible gulp before speaking into the phone.</p><p>“Hey Mako, did you—" he started.</p><p>“Ren! Thank goodness you finally picked up!” Makoto said worriedly, interrupting him mid-sentence. “The others and I were trying to contact you via the group chat, but you never answered… Did everything turn out well with Dr. Maruki?”</p><p>Ren froze in that instant. He forgot that he was supposed to tell Makoto and the others what he and Akechi had decided on. He opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly closed it. How was he supposed to tell her that he agreed to stay in Maruki’s reality and that Akechi now with Sumire disagreed with him on the matter? Would she even understand his reasoning if he explained it to her? Makoto was a good listener after all.</p><p>“Ren? Are you still there?” Makoto asked him after he had gone silent.</p><p>“Y-yeah, sorry I ended up falling asleep earlier, so I’m still waking up… What did you ask me?” he tried to postpone the question as much as possible, but Makoto didn’t seem to be amused by his response.</p><p>“Sleeping? At a time like this?” she sighed. “Ren, you know how important this decision is for us. I’ll ask again what happened with Dr. Maruki?”</p><p>No matter how hard he tried, there was no avoiding her question; he knew he had to answer her eventually. Whether he told her the truth or lied to her was still what kept him from saying much more on the subject. The truth would most likely upset her, no doubt, but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her. If he lied, he would only be doing it for her sake. If he could somehow maintain the truth hidden long enough, she would get to see her father again, and others would regain their loved ones and passions too.</p><p>“We came to a stalemate… Maruki won’t budge, but he felt like granting us just a little more time…” he lied to her, hoping that she wouldn’t catch on.</p><p>She didn't buy it.</p><p>“Regardless of that, Ren, what about the calling card? If he gave us more time, then did you still show it to him?”</p><p>“No, I figured that it would ruin it’s effectiveness if I gave it to him there…” </p><p>Makoto went silent for a moment. Ren started to get more nervous the longer she stayed quiet. He wondered just how much she believed him. He hadn’t ever given her a reason to doubt him, but the lie he was telling her right now would end that trust if she found out. </p><p>“I suppose there’s nothing we can do for now then, we’ll just have to wait,” she finally said.</p><p>Ren felt relief and guilt at the same time. He hoped that this would be the last and only time he had to do this to her. Even if it was for her and the other’s sake, he couldn’t stand the thought of having to lie to them again, especially her.</p><p>He looked at the clock as a way to distract himself. This time it read 11:59 P.M. He would have brought up their plans for Valentine's Day which was relatively soon, but he mostly wanted to turn in for the night feeling rather tired from his dispute with Akechi and Sumire earlier. He was about to say goodbye and wish Makoto a good night; however, the call had suddenly ended. He looked at his device to see if he hadn’t accidentally hit the red button by mistake. And yet when he tried to turn the small device back on, the screen remained black. It wouldn’t power on despite his repeated attempts.</p><p>“It died? But I could’ve sworn it still had a good ways to go…” he said, examining the handheld.</p><p>He moved to grab his charger, but before he even moved, the lights in his room went out as well. The whole cafe seemed to shut off entirely. He grabbed the flashlight he kept near his shelf, and still, that too didn’t seem to work. He looked outside to see if the power outage had extended from outside the cafe. What he found, however, was that the night sky had become enveloped in a mysterious green glow. The moon seemed to change to sinister yellow as well as he looked up at the full sphere above. </p><p>The streets were flooded with puddles of strange red liquid, closely resembling the ones he found inside of mementos. </p><p>“What the hell is going on… Don’t tell me this is Dr. Maruki’s doing…” Horror overwhelmed him as it took over his face. He shook his head quickly,  refusing to believe that this was the doctor’s doing. After all, Maruki had promised him that no harm would befall anyone or the world if he had accepted his offer. He just had to wait it out and see. </p><p>But what about Makoto? Would she be alright? Was she able to see this too? The thought bothered him to no end, he quickly grabbed his winter coat and headed downstairs before leaving the cafe. He would have to figure this out later; for now, he just had to make sure that she was safe.</p><p>“This’ll be over soon… it just has to be… please be okay, Mako…”</p><hr/><p>The streets were quiet as the sky remained an eerie green color with coffins lining the streets of Tokyo. A small blip of light suddenly manifested from thin air as two blue butterflies flew out of it, flying away into the sky. A human followed soon after, revealing a young man with distinct blue hair as he fell onto the ground. He slowly picked himself up as he looked around at his surroundings. Was he dreaming? He didn’t know. He only knew that his name was Minato Arisato and that he was acting as the great seal to the threat that was Erebus mere moments ago. </p><p>“Why am I back here…” he tried to make sense of his situation, but a headache came over him, forcing him onto one knee. He began breathing raggedly as his whole body began to ache all over. </p><p>He was sure that he would collapse any moment from the sheer pain, but he figured it was his body getting used to being alive again. When it was all said and done, he was sweating heavily. He allowed himself a moment to catch his breath, when he looked down at his torso, Minato noticed he had a rusted gun-like object fastened to his belt. </p><p>He took the gun into his hand and stared at it in a confused daze. </p><p>“When did I—”</p><p>A sudden scream snapped him out of it. He looked around to see if he could find the source of the cry. The scream came again; this time, he noticed it coming from a nearby open window of an apartment complex. It was that of a young woman’s voice.</p><p>“A S-shadow?! Stay away from me!” the young woman cried out.</p><p>Upon hearing the very word, Minato sprung into action, making his way quickly towards the complex. He fell over immediately, noticing that his body was still relatively weak from the pain he felt mere seconds prior. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to get up. He didn’t care that his current situation made no sense to him, nor did he pay mind to the pain that he was experiencing. Minato wasn’t about to let another person become a part of The Lost, especially if they knew what a shadow was. </p><p>He rushed inside the apartment complex and made his way up using the staircases. He would’ve preferred the elevator, but during the Dark Hour, no electronics worked. He just hoped he wouldn’t be too late to save the young woman, whoever she was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I realize now that I've been doing more changes to this story as time has went on and I think they have been for the better honestly. You'll have to let me know if you all feel the same haha. </p><p>Anyway that'll conclude my very brief revisit to this chapter! I hope you enjoy the next chapter and stick around for what's to come! (Ik I haven't updated recently but it's coming! (oh yeah I should mention that these notes were written after Ch.3's revision so if they seem out of order that's why!))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. New Faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minato has arrived at the source of the scream. He enters the apartment only to find that a shadow has been lurking its halls.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two weeks sure is a long wait, isn't it? I would like to write this a lot faster, but I am also committed to a bunch of projects that oddly enough seem to have due dates that are close to each other. I'm not complaining, in fact, it's an honor to be included in so many projects, but as for what those are, they'll all be posted here in due time. Anyway, that was my explanation as to why there is a two-week wait between each chapter. I want to finish this and I'm getting new ideas to include in this almost every day, some even on the spot, so yeah I really want to make sure I give myself proper time to execute all of them!</p><p>Anyway with that, I hope this chapter is to your liking. It's a bit more action-based than the previous two, and more chapters like this one will be a thing, though there won't be too many of them, since I do prefer dialogue scenes the most. Well if I haven't bored you with my rambling yet, I'll leave to read this next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!</p><p>EDIT: 11/19/2020: Changed the ending of this chapter a bit. Not due to feedback but just felt like the story progressed more naturally that way. :)</p><p>Other changes include fixes to dialogue tags so that they better match the scene the characters are in! Huge thanks to Delphi for that!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>February 3rd, 2017</b>
</p><p>
  <b>(Midnight, Dark Hour)</b>
</p>
<hr/><p>This feeling had been all too familiar to Minato. His mind was calm, and his eyes were closed; he felt a small jolt of electricity run from his head to his fingertips. He listened carefully as a figure approached him quickly. Choosing to remain still, he took one deep breath and opened his eyes. His lips formed a confident smirk and in a flash, he unhooked the latch on his evoker, taking the weapon out and pressing it against his temple. </p><p>He pulled the trigger, releasing a blue crystalized light that surrounded him as his Persona materialized behind him. </p><p>“Orpheus!” he cried out.</p><p>A tall figure clad in light blue armor emerged from the light and faced the shadow in front of Minato. It had a gray face and red eyes, and it carried a lyre on its back, sturdy enough to smack its foe with. With a flick of Minato’s hand, Orpheus ignited the shadow with a hot flame. The shadow wailed as it cried out in pain from the scorching burns, practically begging Minato to stop. Minato ignored its pleas and commanded Orpheus again to swing its lyre, sending the Shadow flying out of the window. It crashed hard against the cold pavement, dissipating into thin black ash.</p><p>With one quick breath, he withdrew Orpheus and put the evoker in its holster again. He had hoped he hadn’t caused too much damage in the small apartment he was in. After all, he was here for the woman who cried for help earlier. </p><p>He listened closely as he heard murmurs coming from the kitchen. It must have been her, he figured. When he walked past the counter, he found her huddled underneath the table trembling as she was covering her head.</p><p>“RenSispleasesaveme” she kept repeating to herself.</p><p>“It’s alright now, you’re safe,” Minato tried saying in a comforting voice.</p><p>“W-who are you? A-and how did you get in here?” Her voice was still timid as she was noticeably too scared to even look at him.</p><p>Minato found himself a bit confused by her reaction. He tried again, this time loosening his stiff posture and letting out a small breath before lowering himself to her eye level. “My name is Minato Arisato. That shadow is gone now,” he started again, this time offering her a calm smile. “Here take my hand.”</p><p>She took his hand slowly. Minato helped her out from under the table until she stood face to face with him. From what he could tell she was still roughly a teenager. A teenager who knew all too well what a shadow was. That made him wonder if she was in any way tied to the Kirijo Group. A group that Mitsuru - his old friend had taken charge after her father’s passing. He wanted to ask her if this was the case but wondered if she was even in the state to answer questions, much less be interrogated by a stranger.</p><p>Makoto looked at him, feeling rather perplexed by his sudden silence. She could see that he was thinking, but about what she didn't know. Granted it did at least help that she wasn't alone in the dark anymore, though she wondered what his intentions were. It hit her then that she still hadn't introduced herself, “I’m Makoto, Makoto Niijima,” she said, slowly beginning to relax. “I-I assume you’re a Persona user as well? J-judging from your display against that shadow, of course.”</p><p><em> “As well?” </em> He thought to himself. Was she able to summon a Persona on top of knowing what a shadow was? Logically, it made sense to him, but he just hadn’t expected to find another persona user so soon after he had awakened from his seal. Then again it was the Dark Hour, and only those who had the potential or already had a Persona could manage to stay conscious during its duration. Regardless, he needed answers and some basic ones at that. </p><p>"A-Are you going to say anything?" she asked.</p><p>“So you’re a Persona-user? But then… how do you summon yours?” Minato asked her, giving her a curious look. “I don’t see an evoker on you.”</p><p>“Answering my question with a question isn't exactly helpful you know,” Makoto sighed. "Anyway, what's an evoker?" she stared back at him.</p><p>Minato pointed to the gun-like object on his belt. Makoto stiffened a bit seeing the weapon, she hadn’t seen anyone carry a gun around so casually in the real world, much less a Persona-user.</p><p>“Relax, it isn’t a gun,” he said. “It’s what I use to summon my Persona. When you pull the trigger it stresses the user’s cognition and forces the Persona out,” he explained to her.</p><p>“So in order to do that, you have to aim it at your head since cognition comes from the mind, correct?” she said.</p><p>“More or less.” Minato nodded. “You’re quick to catch on.”</p><p>“I suppose you could say that…” she said nervously.  “But, to answer your previous question, yes I am a Persona-user, although I summon mine a bit differently you see. I use a mask that comes off when I want to summon mine. But as you probably guessed, I couldn’t do that…”</p><p>Before he could ask why he heard a loud crash come from outside the building. He ran to the window and spotted a large shadow that had begun to climb its way towards him. </p><p>"Dammit! We stood still for too long!" he yelled.</p><p>He quickly shut the window and ran towards Makoto, taking her hand and leaving the apartment. </p><p>“H-hey! Where are you taking me?!” Makoto yelled, demanding an answer.</p><p>“There isn’t much time to explain! Another shadow sensed us and it’s much larger than the one from before! We have to draw it to a more open space or else it’ll destroy this building!” Minato tried to explain as best he could.</p><p>“But my sister is back there! I can’t just leave her!” Makoto retorted. “That shadow will get her too!”</p><p>“The first one would have already taken care of her if that was the case! Right now, she’s most likely transmogrified and isn’t even aware of what’s happening! Trust me these shadows only come after people like us!” Minato continued running without saying another word to her.</p><p>Makoto stayed quiet, finding it hard to argue with him. She had trouble believing him, but after seeing him use his Persona she didn’t have much of a choice, “Head to the roof then! We should have enough room there!” </p><p>“Right!” Minato nodded and picked up the pace. Oddly enough this reminded him of the day when he first awoke to Orpheus. He had been extremely apathetic back then as Yukari practically dragged him to safety, trying to save both of their lives. If it wasn’t for her insistence back then, he might have not been around to stop Nyx. </p><p>"Nyx…" he said to himself in a low whisper.</p><p>His mind went blank for a moment as the memory of his battle with the black-winged goddess replayed itself in his head. It was the night he surrendered his life; the night he became the great seal that stopped the true threat that was Erebus from consuming the whole world in a veil of death.</p><p>He was certain he broke Yukari's heart after the fact. He had made so many promises to her and he kept most of them, except for his biggest one which was to be there for her. He couldn't keep it no matter how hard he tried to prolong his life after that battle. He hated the idea of leaving her behind more than anything, but he ultimately knew that it was for the greater good. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was still around now. If he could see her right now he wouldn’t hesitate if given the chance… Would she be happy to see him again? A part of him hoped so, but another made him wonder if she had moved on…</p><p>That's when he heard a voice calling out to him. It had a sense of urgency to it, almost as if it was calling to him specifically. Why was he running again? Shouldn't he have just been happy with being resurrected? No, that didn't feel right... He was doing something mere seconds ago, but... what was it? His mind could only wander to Yukari: her soft hazel-like eyes, her smile, and her voice. All of her just seemed to so much more important in that instance, but the voice continued to call out to him, begging him to wake-up.</p><p>"Minato," another voice said.</p><p>This one was much calmer, softer, and very familiar. He knew this voice... it was Yukari's. He looked ahead and saw her standing, waiting to receive him with open arms and a wide smile formed across her lips. He moved slowly towards her with an entranced gaze, falling completely under her control. But the closer he got, the farther she seemed to be from him. It didn't matter though, he kept going and going mindlessly walking towards her ignoring the other pleading voice until he finally collapsed.</p><p>"Not yet," Yukari smiled warmly, "Someone else needs you right now, don't worry about me. I'll be waiting for you," she said as she vanished and his vision became a blur.</p><p>The other voice from before became clearer as he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself laying on his back with Makoto kneeling beside him. She shook him awake pleading for him to get back up.</p><p>“Arisato-san!” Makoto yelled.</p><p>When he finally snapped out of his daze he looked at a concerned Makoto. He only just now realized that he had been asleep for an unknown amount of time. Though it was strange, to his knowledge he hadn't ever shut his eyes, so how had he fallen asleep suddenly? All he remembered was running away from a shadow and then he began having visions of Yukari.  "I saw her..." he said.</p><p>"Saw who?! Arisato-san, it's only us and that shadow that's chasing us!" Makoto said, trembling out of fear unable to defend herself at the moment.</p><p>"I-I, I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me, I lost myself for a second there," he apologized awkwardly. "It won't happen again, come on let's get going." </p><p>“I should be telling you that," Makoto sighed, pressing her index finger against her forehead. "The roof is just past this door."</p><p>“Got it,” Minato nodded, reading himself for the battle to come. More battle power would have been better in his opinion, but beggars couldn't be choosers he figured, especially after this little accident just now. Unless he, “You said you couldn’t summon your Persona earlier, right?" he turned back to ask her.</p><p>Makoto nodded. "Yeah, I did. Why the sudden question?"</p><p>"I don’t know if it’ll work, but if things get messy, I want you to use my Evoker, you got that,” Minato said.</p><p>“M-me? But I don't know how!” Makoto protested.</p><p>"Just put it to your head and pull the trigger, that's it," he replied curtly. </p><p>"But I-"</p><p>"There's no time!" he raised his voice, giving her a stern look.</p><p>Makoto flinched but eventually nodded. "O-okay fine, I'll do it!"</p><p>At Minato’s signal, the duo went through the door and entered the large patio area of the roof. They could hear the Shadow climbing as it made loud sounds with each of the steps it took. Minato readied himself with Evoker in hand, while Makoto stayed close behind him. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths trying to emulate his stance from before. He waited patiently as the shadow slowly crept its head out from the edge of the roof. He could feel it lock on to him as it brought the rest of its spider-like limbs with it.</p><p>It dashed at him much faster than the previous one, forcing him to dodge the large creature. He kept skirting around trying to find the perfect spot to summon his Persona. With no luck, he withdrew the pistol and resorted to running, having it chase him around the vicinity.</p><p>The Shadow attacked violently at random, shattering windows and lifting the plates of concrete at Minato. Minato could feel himself growing impatient as each chance he got slipped by him in an instant. He was unable to shake off the shadow, forcing him to recklessly summon his Persona.</p><p>The same blue crystalized light from before appeared, materializing into Orpheus. Minato swiftly commanded his Persona to use its lyre to smack the beast away. A direct hit landed on the shadow’s lower half, taking it off balance.</p><p>"Now, Orpheus!" he shouted, commanding his Persona to release a powerful orange flame.</p><p>The attack made its mark as a large smokescreen followed after, shrouding the large beast in heavy smoke. When the smoke cleared Minato was stunned to see that the shadow was still standing, this time, however, it's body was glowing red. The burns it received quickly healed as it rushed Minato directly.</p><p>"Dammit! It wasn't enough!" He pointed his evoker at his head again but nothing came. "What?!" he yelled in shock. </p><p>He was careless and hadn't realized how much he had strained his relatively new body. After all, he had been dead for an unknown amount of time. He cursed himself, looking to the shadow who was closing its distance. He tried to dodge it, but it proved to be much faster, sending him flying and crashing against the wall. </p><p>His evoker flew out of his hand and landed near the edge of the building. He struggled to pick himself back up. He looked to where Makoto had been and told her to grab the weapon before it tipped over.</p><p>"Hurry there's no time left!"</p><p>"R-right!"</p><p>Makoto nodded and made her way towards his Evoker. The shadow was too preoccupied with Minato to notice her, it sharpened one of its gooey limbs into a blade, aiming at him. Minato dared it to lunge at him. The shadow let out a garbled roar, growling like a deranged beast as it finally unleashed its attack. Minato rolled out of the blade's direction, narrowly avoiding being skewered by its sharp edge.</p><p>Meanwhile, Makoto finally reached the Evoker. She grabbed the weapon and stared at it… "Okay, so just point it at your head, and pull the trigger…" Her breathing became more rapid as the weapon shook in her hands. "T-this should be easy, it's n-not a gun it won't hurt me!"</p><p>"Niijima-san now!" Minato yelled, beginning to feel exhausted from dodging the shadow consistently. </p><p>The shadow lunged at him again this time catching him by his coat, pinning him down. He tried to break free to no avail.</p><p>Makoto watched as he struggled and couldn't bear to watch anymore. She pointed the weapon at her head letting out a loud cry. She finally pulled the trigger, erupting in a brilliant blue flame that engulfed her body.</p><p>It caught the shadow's attention as it was about to deliver the final blow to Minato. The floor tiles cracked underneath the sheer pressure of Makoto's forced summoning. By the time the blue flames dissipated, Makoto was clad in her signature black and blue biker outfit. She donned her iron mask as she gave the shadow her signature crimson glare. </p><p>She dashed forward, ripping away at her mask, and summoning her Persona. A motorcycle manifested out of thin air as she caught a ride on it midway. She revved the engine forcing her Persona, Anat, to shoot blue nuclear energy as she closed the distance between her and the shadow. Once she was within range she shot her hand forward commanding Anat.</p><p>"Anat, transform!" </p><p>Her Persona launched her into the air as it began to change its shape from a bike into a humanoid metallic figure. Anat aligned itself with Makoto, taking a striking pose before diving straight down, delivering a powerful punch that sent the shadow crashing against the wall. </p><p>"Take that!" Makoto cried out.</p><p>Minato stared in awe from seeing Makoto's display of raw power. He hadn't seen anything like it, let alone the ability to transform a Persona at will.</p><p>She looked at him and handed him his evoker, "I won't be needing this anymore. I think whatever was blocking me from summoning Anat is gone now!"</p><p>"Y-yeah, right," Minato nodded, slowly picking himself up, "Ready to finish this, then?" he asked.</p><p>"Ready!"</p><p>Makoto lunged forward again, commanding Anat to shoot another round of concentrated blue blasts of nuclear energy. Meanwhile, Minato stood behind a moment giving himself a chance to take a deep breath. "I know you're in there Ryoji… please lend me your strength…" he whispered to himself. He spun the Evoker in his hand and pushed it against his temple, pulling the trigger.</p><p>"Thanatos!" </p><p>A blinding white light along with the silhouette of another person engulfed Minato as another of his Personas emerged. A metal-faced creature arose in thin black clothing. It carried a large sword and had coffins surrounding its torso. It let out a fierce roar as it lunged itself towards the shadow. </p><p>Now it was Makoto's turn to stare in awe as Thanatos tackled the shadow, sending it into the air. Thanatos swung its sword around violently, cutting cleanly through each of the shadow's limbs and body, forcing the shadow to let out a painful cry as its limbs spun around aimlessly in the air. </p><p>Minato then looked back at Makoto. "Now! Shoot it!" he yelled. </p><p>Makoto snapped out of her daze and charged a beam of nuclear energy before firing the blast. The blue beam encapsulated the shadow, disintegrating it into black ash in an instant. </p><p>Minato and Makoto let out sighs of relief as the shadow was finally defeated and along with it the green sky returned to its natural dark blue color. Makoto's biker outfit returned to her casual blue winter coat, and both her and Minato's Personas disappeared. The Dark Hour had finally come to an end for the night. </p><p>"You did great out there, Niijima-san." He said, catching his breath.</p><p>"Same…  to you… Arisato-san," Makoto said exhausted. </p><p>They allowed themselves a moment of rest. The night had been an active one for the both of them, especially for Minato.</p><p>He wouldn't have expected a fight with shadows on his first night being alive again. He looked up at the full moon in the night sky again and took a moment to think for himself. He still didn't know why he was alive again, or how for that matter. What bothered him more is that with the Dark Hour's return it most certainly meant that Erebus was bound to wake up and wreak havoc on the world again. He couldn't stand the thought of dooming the entire world just so he could stay alive. </p><p>Makoto looked at him and could feel a strange aura about him. It felt a lot like Ren's only that he came off as the more reserved type. Not to mention that he also could swap between multiple Personas. And then there was that strange phenomenon that turned the sky into a green eerie color. There were so many questions building inside her head, but for now, they both needed a bit of rest.</p><p>"Arisato-san?" She spoke up. "Thank you for earlier, I don't know what I would've done had you not made it in time."</p><p>Minato waved his hand in front of her, "It's no problem. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." </p><p>"I suppose that's true," Makoto smiled. "Anyway, how did you become a Persona-user? I've never seen anyone fight as you have."</p><p>"It's a bit of a long story, but would you mind if we continued this somewhere… less cold?" he admitted, shivering slightly as the nightly breeze blew by.</p><p>"Oh, yes of course!" Makoto said, "Actually there might be a better place but it's a bit of a walk. With my Sister most likely awake now things won't be as pretty…"</p><p>"Whatever works," Minato reassured her.</p><p>"Great! Shall we get going then?" She asked.</p><p>"Lead the way."</p><p>Makoto guided him back inside the apartment complex. They descended multiple floors before arriving at her's.  As she stepped into the floor she spotted a familiar mop of messy black hair approaching her door. "Ren!" She cried out, rushing towards him and enveloping him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"</p><p>"I came to check on you after that weird power outage. I was worried something strange was happening." Ren cast his face down. He didn't want to insinuate anything and possibly result in him telling her the truth about Maruki. As he held that thought he spotted Minato standing closely behind. “Who's that?” he asked his girlfriend.</p><p>Makoto parted herself from Ren and apologized for not introducing him to Minato. "Ren, this is, Minato Arisato. Arisato-kun, this is my boyfriend, Ren Amamiya," she said.</p><p>Minato offered his hand, "Nice to meet you."</p><p>"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Ren said, shaking Minato's hand in return.</p><p>After the awkward exchange of greetings, Makoto started to explain to Ren what had happened earlier. She told him about the weird change in the sky and the shadows that attacked her and Minato. </p><p>"Shadows?!" Ren was shocked to hear that shadows had slipped into the real world. </p><p>Minato studied Ren's reaction, surprised to learn that he too knew what shadows were. "By any chance, you wouldn't happen to be a Persona-user too right?" he asked.</p><p>Ren hesitated to answer for a moment until he felt Makoto give his hand a light squeeze. He looked at her and she had that look in her eyes that always reassured him, telling him that it was okay. "Yeah I am," Ren said.</p><p>"Are there more like you?" Minato asked.</p><p>"That's um... Why don't we don't talk it over at Leblanc? Ren lives there and it'll be much more comfortable to talk there," Makoto said nervously. </p><p>"Leblanc?" Minato looked at her puzzled. </p><p>"It's that place I mentioned earlier, plus Ren here can make some coffee and curry, you know for all your troubles?" Makoto changed the subject.</p><p>"Mako... Are you sure that's a good idea? You just met him," Ren said concerned.</p><p>"And he saved my life, Ren. The least we could do is offer some hospitality." Makoto reasoned. "Besides you did say that you would tell me how you got your Persona right, Arisato-san? I think it works out."</p><p>"I guess so," Minato shrugged. "Lead the way."</p><p>The couple turned towards the stairs, making their way outside the building. Minato followed closely behind as they talked amongst themselves, leaving him to think to himself for a moment. He still needed answers about his current situation. He wondered just how long he could go without having to worry about Erebus, or even The Fall for that matter. </p><p>Yukari still came to mind as he wondered about her, but she would have to wait for now. It's not like she knew that he's alive right now, but what if he could show her? At least after he knew something maybe he could see her one last time.</p><p>
  <em>Hopefully.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A little small fact about this chapter, that scene where Minato suddenly starts hallucinating, that was actually done as I was editing this chapter for final submission! Originally, he was just going to get lost in thought and somehow make it perfectly to the rooftop's entrance. Though the more I read it, the more it sounded empty and shallow, so what did I do? I said, "hey what-if I add more about Yukari, and make this scene make more sense?" and I did. (At least I think so, haha.)</p><p>I'd like to know what you all thought though, no pressure really. I'm thankful for all of you who stuck around for the two-week wait, I promise to deliver on each chapter! Until the next one, see ya!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Dread and Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minato, Makoto, and Ren have arrived at Leblanc after brutal battle against shadows in the Dark Hour. Minato ends up confessing something of his past that better helps the phantom thief leaders understand his circumstances. Though Minato isn't unaware of Ren's strange behavior, just what the leader of the phantom thieves is hiding escapes him, he just hopes it isn't anything stupid. After all, he has hopes to reunite with Yukari, the last thing he needs is to babysit a teen.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WHY YES THIS PROJECT IS INDEED ALIVE!!! First off, I'd like to apologize for taking such a long hiatus with this story. Things came up, and I got a new job, I got booked with zines and well more stuff, you get the picture. And things aren't exactly looking better at the moment as my family and I have unfortunately been hit with the virus. I'm doing fine at the moment, but my parents are struggling more with it so I have to look out for them more. </p><p>Obviously, this means I can't promise a consistent upload schedule like I had promised originally, but I do hope you look forward to future chapters! And no worries about me or my family because despite the struggle we're slowly making a full recovery, so I nor they will be going anywhere. </p><p>Back to the fic: I guess this is the point in which we'll say goodbye to the P5 cast for a bit and focus more on the P3 cast as things are going to start involving them more from now on. I still have some ships I want to introduce slowly or hint at and yes they are P5, but some will actually crossover between both casts! So I hope you look forward to it!</p><p>With that I'll leave you to read the next chapter in this on going series! Until the next one, see ya!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>February 3rd, 2017</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Late Night (Post Dark Hour,) Cafe Leblanc</b>
</p><hr/><p>A strong aroma filled the air as Minato stood inside Cafe Leblanc. There was a sweetness to it — one that felt oddly inviting. Looking around, the cafe’s surroundings filled him with a sense of coziness and warmth, wrapping around him like a warm blanket on a cold winter day.</p><p>It felt like the place to come to after a long day at school or work, where people would gather and unwind with loved ones or friends. It felt like home.</p><p>“Home,” Minato said in a low breath. The feeling felt all too familiar to him. It wasn't that he considered a coffee shop a home, but something about the small place reminded him of the dorms he once lived in. Though the dorms were grander in size, another reason he often looked back fondly on that place was because of his girlfriend Yukari. </p><p>She would always greet him in secret away from the other’s attention, especially on the days he came home later than usual. Those were the days she would worry non-stop over him.</p><p>
  <em> “Relax, I was just helping out the student council,” he would explain, planting a soft kiss on her cheek for added reassurance. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I know,” she would answer, pouting away her worries as she tries not to mention the typhoon incident as the real reason for her concern. “Just promise me you’ll let me know if something comes up okay?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I will.” </em>
</p><p>A warm smile tugged at the corner of his lips as the memory played out in his mind. </p><p>“Is something the matter?” Makoto asked. “You’ve been standing there for a while now.”</p><p>“Hm?” he said before shaking his head, “No, it’s just... I remembered something.”</p><p>“Was it something special then?” she asked. “You had quite the large smile just now.”</p><p>“I suppose you could say that,” Minato added with a laugh. He hadn’t laughed since he awoke in the streets of Tokyo earlier. It felt nice to be at ease for once.</p><p>“You should tell us a bit more of yourself then,” Ren said as he was carrying a small tray with three coffee cups. He placed two cups near Makoto before placing the third across from them. “Here why don’t you have a seat while we wait for the curry.” Ren offered.</p><p>Minato nodded, making his way towards the booths where the couple sat. He seated himself across from them before taking the small cup into his hands and taking a small sip of the coffee. His eyes widened as the warm beverage entered his mouth. It was delicious, and the texture was rich, neither too watery nor too thick. Not even the coffee he used to have at the dorms could compete with this cup.</p><p>“Judging from your reaction, I’d say it’s to your liking,” Ren smirked.</p><p>“You got me,” Minato chuckled. “Did you learn how to make this on your own?”</p><p>“Nah, I wish,” Ren admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “My guardian taught me, he’s actually the owner of this shop.”</p><p>“I see, I’ll have to get to know him sometime then,” Minato said.</p><p>Ren nodded, “Well, what about you? We did say we wanted to know more about you.”</p><p>“It’s a little complicated if I’m honest,” Minato started. “You see I wasn’t expecting to wake-up today and meet new people so soon, least of all Persona-users.”</p><p>“You say that like you’ve been gone a while,” Makoto gave him a playful smirk.</p><p>“Well, that’s because I have…” Minato confessed. “I admit I don't know today's date, but the last thing I remember is being on my school's rooftop with my friends on the day of my senpais' graduation: March 5th, 2010." </p><p>Ren and Makoto froze in an instant. Did they hear him right? What did he even mean by "last thing I remember?" Did Minato really not remember the last seven years?</p><p>Minato found their behavior to be quite strange. “Did I say something?” he asked obliviously.</p><p>"Arisato-san, I don’t mean to alarm you, but the year is 2017... Um, I don't mean to be rude but... do you suffer from amnesia?" </p><p>Makoto tried to wrack her brain for what she knew of retrograde amnesia, but it wasn't a topic she had to study much on. But she wanted to help him—he had saved her after all. </p><p>
  <em> "It's only been seven years?" Minato asked himself. "Then that means…!" </em>
</p><p>"Arisato-san?" Makoto called him again when he didn't answer.</p><p>Minato shook his head. "I'm sorry, I just thought about something again…" he said. "But to answer your question, no, I don’t,” he paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “There's no simple way to say this but... I died on the rooftop that day. I'm— supposed to be dead." </p><p>“Y-You’re one of them too then…” Makoto said in a low voice.</p><p>“One of them? What are you talking about?” Minato asked, confused.</p><p>Minato studied them as they sat with a heavy silence. Makoto looked like she wanted to say something, but she seemed unable to. Ren on the other hand seemed to be quite on edge despite his otherwise cool exterior.</p><p>Minato narrowed his eyes on Ren. Something was off about him. He expected their shock when he announced his death and miraculous return to life, but Ren’s otherwise subdued reaction piqued Minato’s suspicions. The teen’s eyes had a look of guilt and fear in them… he was definitely hiding something, but just what escaped Minato all the same. He grew impatient as the prolonged silence dragged on between the young couple.</p><p>“What are you two hiding?” Minato asked, pressing for an answer. “I get that hearing of someone coming back to life is a big deal, but this… something tells me it isn’t about that. It feels like I’m not the first person to have told you this.”</p><p>Makoto sighed heavily. “It’s not that we’re hiding anything from you, Arisato-san. It’s just that we think we know why you’re here right now, at least a part of it.”</p><p>“Makoto…” Ren grimaced.</p><p>“It’s alright, Ren,” Makoto said, putting her hand on his leg. “I think it’s best he knows now. No one deserves to live in this false reality.”</p><p>“That’s—” Ren stopped himself quickly. He almost regretted his decision to side with Maruki for a moment. She didn’t want to live in this world, she wanted their world; the one where they had spent their time together and got to know each other. It hurt having to hide this from her, but deep down he truly believed he was doing the right thing. </p><p>Soon enough everything will be much better for them than they ever were. Makoto would have her parents and he would get to stay in Tokyo with her. It was only a matter of time now, even if it meant lying for just a little bit longer.</p><p>“Ren?” Makoto looked at him concerned.</p><p>“It’s nothing, Mako,” he shook his head. “Go ahead, tell him, it’s okay.”</p><p>Makoto nodded and turned to look at Minato.</p><p>“So Arisato-san about this false reality I mentioned… it may be hard to understand, so please listen closely,”  she said.</p><p>“I’m listening.” </p><p>“Right. Well for starters the person behind its creation is Takuto Maruki.  He was our school’s counselor for a while last semester, but he was only there for a short time. We hadn’t heard much of him since, until one day we ended up in this reality,” Makoto explained, recounting the events of the previous year. “He somehow managed to take control of everyone’s cognition and alter it so that we could live the best versions of our lives," Makoto paused, she almost shed a tear as the memory of her father came to mind before shaking her head and pressing forward. "E-Except, none of us knew that, Ren here saved me and made me realize that what I was seeing wasn’t real.”</p><p>Minato took a moment to make sense of Makoto’s explanation. He had heard of similar things happening to those who suffered from apathy syndrome, but the difference was that back then it only played out in the victim’s head; to most people that person looked like a walking corpse. He wouldn’t have imagined a full merging of the real and ideal.</p><p>He looked to them, letting out a small sigh. “I would say this all sounds ridiculous, but knowing what happened to me it’s hard to just ignore it,” Minato admitted. “I’m assuming you both saw things that had been taken away from you.”</p><p>“R-right… I-I got to see my father again, and Ren was reacquainted with an old rival.” She said with a sad smile. “A-anyway, in case you haven’t realized it, that means when we fix this problem and return to our original reality, you’ll…”</p><p>“I’ll die again, won’t I?” Minato interrupted her.</p><p>Makoto nodded. She didn’t want to outright admit it, but she figured if she had revealed this much she might as well tell him everything. He deserved to know at the very least because no one deserved to live a life in blissful ignorance.</p><p>“Niijima-san, Amamiya-kun,” Minato spoke up. “It’s okay if I die again. I’m supposed to be dead as it is anyway, if I stay around longer, I don’t know what else could happen to you both.”</p><p>“What do you mean by that?” Ren asked. “Wouldn’t you want to stay alive? Isn’t there someone you’d like to see again?”</p><p>“Ren!” Makoto interjected. “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over him, he didn’t mean that.”</p><p>“I-it’s fine,” Minato stuttered, suddenly feeling vulnerable. He thought about Yukari again, wondering what she was doing right now. Probably sleeping given how late at night it was, but he couldn’t help but wonder what she would do if she saw him again. If she did she would probably yell and slap him for leaving her, or if she even cared to see him. Realistically, she probably did have someone else now, and he probably faded as a distant memory like a withered petal on a flower.</p><p>Still, he knew it wouldn’t hurt to at least try again. But first he had to warn them about the Dark Hour. In case he wasn’t around they should at least know how to navigate it. </p><p> “Do you two remember that strange phenomenon you saw an hour ago?” he asked suddenly.</p><p>Makoto looked at him surprised before nodding. “Of course we do, but about what Ren said—”</p><p>“It’s okay, that's not important right now,” Minato interrupted her, not wanting to share more than what was needed. “That thing is called the Dark Hour, it’s a hidden hour in the day that only appears at midnight each night. Nobody knows about it because they are always asleep in their ‘coffins.’ Only people with the ability to summon a Persona are aware of it,” Minato continued, making sure to explain the situation properly.</p><p>“So during this Dark Hour, I’m assuming Shadows appear, but does that mean they can just appear anywhere?” Makoto asked, hoping that the answer wasn’t the one she dreaded.</p><p>Minato nodded. “They can, but they are always drawn to those who are awake, that’s why they went after you, Niijima-san,” Minato then turned to Ren. “I’m surprised none of them found you Amamiya-kun.”</p><p>“I suppose I was just lucky…” Ren rubbed the back of his head, before looking curiously at Minato. “Speaking of which, the way you talk about this Dark Hour… Are you connected to it somehow?”</p><p>Minato gave a deep sigh, “You seem insistent on knowing more about me aren’t you?” </p><p>“Well, it’s only fair, considering we told you the truth regarding our current situation,” Ren shot back.</p><p>“Fair enough.”</p><p>Minato looked up at the wooden roof, closing eyes as he took in a deep breath before turning back his attention on the couple.</p><p>“I’ll try to keep it concise, but basically I gave my life to end the Dark Hour seven years ago,” Minato revealed to them. “I was part of another group of Persona-users known as S.E.E.S.. We hunted down shadows and stopped them  from wreaking havoc in the city. After almost a year of hunting shadows, we unknowingly called upon Nyx, the goddess of death.”</p><p>“How did you all stop it?” Makoto asked in a low voice.</p><p>“We didn’t… Nyx was just a puppet, a puppet to the being responsible that wants nothing more than to see ruin and destruction. It doesn’t even want to rebuild after the fact... It only seeks to destroy and kill everything in its way. Its name is Erebus.”</p><p>“This Erebus… is it free? Now that you’re here?” Makoto asked with uncertainty. </p><p>“I don’t know,” Minato sighed. “But that’s all the more reason why I can’t stay here, it could come back at any time, and I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop it again.”</p><p>“And your friends? Can’t they help you if that happened? We could also lend a hand if need be!” Makoto offered.</p><p>Minato shook his head. “After the battle they all forgot everything, some of them didn’t even know each other at all anymore,” he lamented, forming a sad smile on his lips. “Besides you two have your own problems to deal with right now.”</p><p>“Arisato-san…” Makoto said quietly.</p><p>“It’s okay, if anything I just want to see them all again before I go, even if they don’t remember me...  Especially her.”</p><p>“Her? Was this person that important to you?” Ren asked.</p><p>“Nothing gets by you does it?” Minato looked at him with piercing blue eyes. “There was a girl, and she was important to me, but—” He stopped, wondering if he was sharing too much again. </p><p>Makoto looked at how Minato hesitated. It wasn’t her problem and yet she still felt sorry for Minato. He must’ve been hurting inside and who wouldn’t be? Having to decide between getting to see old faces one last time or dying without them knowing couldn’t have been easy she imagined. Still much like Ren, she wanted to help at the very least; to give him some sense of closure. A name would do wonders right about now, maybe even Futaba would know where to look.</p><p>“Arisato-san, if you don’t mind me asking could you tell us her name? I may have someone who can help us.” Makoto offered.</p><p>“Are you sure? I would rather not be a burden, and I don’t even know if she’d still remember me…” Minato worried.</p><p>“You won’t know unless you try, right?” Ren gave him a playful smirk. </p><p>Minato hesitated again. Should he really give them her name? It was true they only wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure about it. After all, he never intended to share this much with people he had just met, despite telling himself that he wouldn’t hesitate if he had the chance to see Yukari again. This was probably his only chance too…</p><p>He let out a heavy sigh finally uttering her name. “Her name is… Yukari, Yukari Takeba.”</p><p>“That name sounds oddly familiar doesn’t it Makoto?” Ren asked the brunette.</p><p>Before Makoto even had a chance to ponder the name, her phone immediately rang as multiple notifications popped in. She looked at her phone and saw that they were all from Futaba.</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba:</b> <em>He's lying.</em></p><p>
  <em> There's no way he went out with that Yukari!  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She's said it herself that there's only been one person she's ever loved and that guy is dead! She even has a ring to remember him by, just look! </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I'm telling you this guy does not know The Pink Argus! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Two images downloaded onto Makoto's phone where they showed the face of Yukari followed by a close up of her right hand. She looked at the images closely before reminding herself of a key part in Futaba's messages.</p><p>"That guy is dead…" Makoto muttered aloud.</p><p>“Who?” Minato asked, confused by who she was referring to. </p><p>“Arisato-san, is this her?” Makoto asked, showing him the images on her phone.</p><p>Minato’s eyes went wide as he saw Yukari’s face. There was no mistaking her for someone else, her light brown hair, her hazel eyes, and high usage of pink in her outfit, it was definitely her. </p><p>“That’s Yukari,” Minato said. “But it seems like your friend thinks I’m lying.”</p><p>“Oh she’s just like that sometimes, please don’t mind her,” Makoto waved a hand.  “But since she’s insistent on listening in on people’s conversations, surely she won’t mind telling us where Yukari-san might be.”</p><p>Three dots came up as Futaba started to type. It took about a minute before another wave of messages filled Makoto’s phone.</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba:</b> <em>You’re so evil you know that?</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> But anyway, your new friend is in luck. She’s actually on a Phoenix Ranger Featherman tour right now, and her next show is going to be at the theater in Shibuya tomorrow.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“She says that Yukari-san is coming here tomorrow!” Makoto said excitedly. “Apparently, for a Featherman show tour.”</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba: </b> <em> Not so fast. There is some bad news… the tickets are sold-out. But luckily for you, I can spoof some... </em>&gt;:)</p><p> </p><p>Makoto almost nodded in disapproval, but she knew how important this could be for Minato. She gave Futaba the go ahead before seeing one more message come in from the orange-haired girl.</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba:</b> <em> One condition though. He better bring back this ticket signed by her, heheh. </em></p><p> </p><p>Makoto sighed, “Arisato-san, would it be too much trouble if you brought back the ticket signed?”</p><p>“Is that her condition?” he asked with a knowing gaze.</p><p>“Yes… I’m sorry I know it’s wrong to ask like that, but—”</p><p>“Tell her that she’ll get to meet Yukari and get anything she wants signed instead,” Minato said confidently.</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba: </b> <em> He's… pulling my chain right? </em></p><p> </p><p>Makoto turned to look at Minato, but his face was straight and serious. </p><p>"Is something wrong?" he asked. </p><p>"She wants to know if you're actually serious about this…"</p><p>"I'm totally serious," he said with a convincing smile.</p><p> </p><p><b>Futaba: </b> <em> Deal! He better not be lying to me! </em></p><p> </p><p>“It seems like that was enough to convince her,” Makoto smiled before giving Minato an apologetic look. “I know you just wanted to see Yukari-san, but I’m thankful that you’re doing this.”</p><p>“It’s no bother, really,” Minato reassured her. “You helped me find her, told me about our current situation, and gave me a good cup of coffee, I’d say we’re even.”</p><p>“Well with that settled, I’ll head up stairs and get our sleeping arrangements in order,” Ren announced.</p><p>Minato gave him a strange look, to which Ren could only chuckle. “What? Did I not tell you I live here too? I guess that did slip my mind as we were talking, but anyway I’ll be back in a bit.”</p><p>With Ren gone, Minato turned to Makoto who was still looking at her phone.</p><p>“He left rather quickly, didn’t he?” he asked.</p><p>“That’s just how he is,” Makoto said. “He’s always quick on his feet to get things done. You should relax while we wait for him.”</p><p>“I see…” he nodded hesitantly. “By the way, is there a restroom here? It’s been a while but I need to use it.”</p><p>“Yeah, just head down the hall and enter that first door on your right,” she said.</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>Minato stood up from the booth and headed towards the small restroom. He closed the wooden door behind him and let out a small breath. He moved towards the sink and started the water, splashing some on his face before grabbing a hanging towel. When he looked at himself in the mirror he couldn’t help but notice small bits of facial hair. </p><p>“Huh. Guess I still kept aging even as the seal.”</p><p>Before he could continue with his thoughts he heard pacing footsteps in a back and forth motion coming from the roof. He figured it was Ren preparing things, but it was too frantic to just be that. He stepped out of the restroom and saw Makoto was still distracted. He moved quietly upstairs before hearing Ren’s voice in the distance.</p><p>It was difficult to make-out but he had only managed to catch the last bit. </p><p>“Can you call me back soon, strange things are still happening and you promised they would stop... thanks.”</p><p>Strange things? A promise? Minato didn’t know what to make of this information. The only strange thing he could think about was the Dark Hour’s return, but a promise from someone? Who would have promised Ren that something like this wouldn’t continue? Minato would think Ren was stupid if it was the Dr. Maruki from before, but the way he talked before it didn’t seem like he would side with someone so delusional. Then again, Makoto spoke for the majority of their time together, but would Ren still be capable even then? He would have to think about it some more later.</p><p>For now, his focus was on seeing Yukari again. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow, so it was best that he got some rest for it. He just hoped it wasn’t going to be filled with needless heartbreak, not from her to him, but from him to her. He couldn’t exactly tell Yukari he’s back only to vanish at a moment’s notice, that would only hurt her. And truth be told, he would rather not do that again, she didn’t deserve it, not like this. </p><p>“Just what have I gotten myself into?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. So Happy Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the guilt manifests in the form of a nightmare, Ren seeks advice from Minato. He doesn't like what he hears, but he struggles to wonder if he's doing is the correct thing. However as the day goes by, the time for Minato to reunite with Yukari draws nearer. He only hopes that she still remembers him and didn't forget him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow. Time really flies by doesn't it. How long has it been? (2 months? 3? Kinda? No. Not really. Anyway, yes a new chapter is out! And a meaty one at that! Though I suppose it's only fair given the wait time... (Oops)</p><p>Seriously though, I hope you enjoy it! There's some twists here that I don't think some of you were expecting for this story to take. But it'll give context for later chapters I promise! (And we're not even half-way yet.) But also I want to thank those who've been here since the prologue... You guys are the real MVPs and I seriously am so grateful for you all. Y'all motivate me to keep going!</p><p>I won't stay around much longer so I'll let you read now, but real quick a favor from me to you. Could you leave a comment below? It doesn't have to be specific, but I seriously do encourage feedback and also I just get a kick out of seeing you're guy's favorite parts! Even a keyboard smash will be enough haha!</p><p>I have more to say but I'll save it for the endnotes, see you later! Enjoy!</p><p>UPDATE: (5/3/2021)  Fixed some grammatical errors as well as adding some new bits of lore that gives Maruki more of a presence as background force, influencing the plot and characters. More so in the latter half of this chapter. And finally a bit more dialogue during Ren's dream haha.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>February 3rd, 2017</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Morning, ???</b>
</p><hr/><p>This shouldn't have happened. Why? Why was he lying on the ground helplessly watching everything around him disappear?</p><p>"You ask yourself this, yet you seem to have forgotten that this is all your doing, trickster." A voice spoke to him. </p><p>Ren looked around and saw nothing but a disturbing green sky above him. He felt the red raindrops fall on his face, leaving behind a strange ooze. </p><p>"You once stood against me, and defied the blissful ignorance I forced humanity to live through, but here you lay; allowing a mindless beast to enforce it." The voice continued. "What changed?"</p><p>"He's different from you!" Ren lashed out in anger. "Unlike you he's truly making people's better, <em>happier</em> even!"</p><p>"I fail to understand how this is any different from what I was doing. The masses are still under one's control," the voiced paused for a moment as it chuckled to itself from the sheer irony of it all. "However, a more pressing matter I suppose is what will you do when your friends and loved one meet the same fate that befell them under my control? Especially, when it is permanent this time," the voice cackled even louder than before, mocking Ren as he laid down on the ground pinned helplessly by shadows. "Though it matters not in the end, death awaits you now. Goodbye, Trickster."</p><p>Before he could answer he felt a hand on his chest. He turned his head and saw that it was Makoto. She was breathing raggedly and shaking as she struggled to hold herself up. </p><p>Her teary crimson eyes stared into him as fear took over her, "Ren… w-where did we go wrong…?"</p><p>Without another word, she vanished into thin ash before Ren's eyes. His face widened in horror. He was about to let out a frustrated and pained scream but before he could his voice went mute. He hadn't realized it then, but he too had begun to vanish.</p><p>In his final moments, he saw a portion of the sky shatter like glass. What came from it was a figure with four glowing red eyes and accompanied by two large grins. It was trying to say something, but he could barely make out what it said in its gargled voice.</p><p>"You… did… this…" the figure spoke slowly.  "It's… your… fault…"</p><p>Everything faded to black then. He let it come to this, it was his fault that Makoto and everyone else was gone. All because he thought he was doing the right thing in living in this false reality to save someone.</p><p>Was it wrong of him? Was it wrong to want to save Akechi that badly? He didn't think it was.</p><p>Suddenly Ren found himself gasping for air as his body shot up. </p><p>He looked around and saw that he was back in Leblanc’s attic. He looked over to his right and Makoto was still next to him, sleeping soundly as daylight had yet to arrive.</p><p>“You okay?” a voice asked from a distance. </p><p>Ren searched for the voice and found a blue-haired man sitting on the couch across from him. Oh, that’s right he had let Minato sleep here for the night. </p><p>“I’m fine,” he lied, trying to convince Minato. “I think I just had a bad nightmare is all.”</p><p>“Want to talk about it?” Minato asked.</p><p>“No, not really, but I could use the company downstairs if you don’t mind,” Ren offered.</p><p>“Sure thing I guess…" Minato agreed hesitantly. He then looked over to Makoto. "What about her?"</p><p>“I rather not wake her up yet. Besides, it’s still pretty early anyway,” Ren said.</p><p>“Fair enough, I’ll see you downstairs then.” Minato got up and headed towards the stairs. </p><p>Light footsteps followed behind him as Ren tried not to disturb Makoto. Once downstairs he started prepping some coffee and lit up the stove to warm up last night’s curry.</p><p>"Coffee?" Ren offered. </p><p>"Sure, but make it a bit stronger this time," Minato yawned. </p><p>"You got it," Ren said with a confident smirk.</p><p>Minutes passed as Minato watched Ren prepare his cup. It was impressive actually, now that he hadn't been distracted by giving away his entire life story.  He could admire the young teen's ability to dedicate himself to his craft. It reminded him a lot of Shinjiro-san on the days he would catch him cooking for the team. Though unlike him, Ren wasn't scared of being found out, in fact, this kid had a habit of showing off too much. </p><p>Minato could only imagine how Ren must behave during his shadow expeditions wherever that may be. Though he'd be lying to himself if he didn't recognize that he would act up to when he explored Tartarus. Though he was more subtle about it, he had a knack for moving around enemy shadows without much effort, always letting out a tired yawn to taunt his enemy. </p><p>"One cup ready," Ren announced, taking Minato out of his thoughts. "It does have a few more shots than the usual, but you wanted stronger right?"</p><p>"Wouldn't have it any other way," Minato said amused. </p><p>He took a sip and immediately felt a surge of energy well up inside of him. He had already acknowledged it once, but Ren really knew how to make a good cup. It's sad that he wouldn't be able to enjoy it much longer, not with the Dark Hour looming over them for the next few nights. </p><p>Minato still had to figure something out, and fast. For all, he knew today could be the day in which The Fall could begin. And Yukari still occupied his mind. It was tonight that he would get a chance to see her after so long. He was nervous if he was being honest with himself, but what would happen if he did get to see her- if he got to be with her. Could he really give her up a second time? </p><p>No, he <em> had </em> to.</p><p>It wasn't a matter of choice, so the least he could do was enjoy it while it lasted. He just hoped she would understand when the time came. </p><p>"Something on your mind?" Ren asked. </p><p>Minato was taken aback somewhat, not realizing he had lost himself in his thoughts again so quickly. He shook his head, trying to avoid the subject.</p><p>Ren let out a small sigh at that. "Well, in that case, mind if I ask you something?"</p><p>"Sure, go ahead."</p><p>Ren cleared his throat, "How far would you go to protect someone from the truth?"</p><p>"I'm not sure I understand…?" Minato gave him a puzzled look. </p><p>"Well, say you had to keep something secret for a while, not forever, but just long enough that the person you don't want to tell doesn't find out," Ren said nervously. "It's not a trust issue, it’s just I’m trying to protect them and give them a better life for it."</p><p>"That's a bit sudden isn't it?" Minato questioned him. </p><p>He looked deep into Ren's eyes, he was looking for something, but he couldn't find it. Whatever Ren was hiding he was doing a good job of it. Defeated, Minato sighed looking down at his coffee. He looked at his reflection in the black drink and couldn't help but be reminded of what he did all those years ago. </p><p>"Remember, what I said last night?" Minato started again. </p><p>Ren nodded. </p><p>"When I told you I had died on that rooftop, well let's just say no one knew about that; none of them knew I was dying, not even Yukari. I kept it from her and took that knowledge with me to my grave," Minato confessed to the teen. </p><p>For one reason or another, he couldn't stop himself from revealing truth after truth with Ren. Something about his aura made it easier to let his guard down around him. Maybe it was because they were the same in that regard. They both kept heartbreaking secrets from those close to them, but he had to wonder if that was really the right thing to do?</p><p>
  <em> It wasn't. It never was.  </em>
</p><p>"I think it's stupid to keep a secret like that being honest," Minato admitted with a sad smile. "You convince yourself that you're doing this for them, but it's just you telling yourself that. You tend to forget about how they might feel. You forget how it might affect them later,” Minato paused for a moment. It was part of the reason why he partially feared his encounter with Yukari. All of these doubts he had, about whether she hated him, or would not remember him, it's what haunted him after he made his decision. “As you can imagine, I don’t know how Yukari must’ve reacted the day I died.” </p><p>"I see…" Ren nodded, albeit being disappointed. He couldn't tell Minato of his plan either, so that meant harboring this guilt for even longer. </p><p>"Sorry, that was a bit too personal," Minato apologized. "Just whatever it is, promise me you'll tell her?"</p><p>"Her? How did you know?" Ren looked at him confused. </p><p>"I didn't. You just told me," Minato stifled a laugh. "Hopefully it's not as bad as what I did."</p><p><em> "If only you knew," </em>Ren thought to himself before responding with a distant “Yeah.” </p><p>"Anyway, I think you should freshen up, you’re gonna meet with her later yeah?" Ren quickly changed the subject. "There's a bathhouse next door, and about the clothes, I have some friends who can help out."</p><p>"Yeah," Minato nodded. "Thanks for the coffee again."</p><p>"No problem, and good luck."</p><p>Meanwhile, upstairs Makoto had been woken up by text messages on her phone. She lazily reached out for it, slowly dragging it to her. She saw the message was from Futaba. </p><p><b>Futaba: </b> Hey. I know it's early, but I need to show you something<em>. </em>I don’t think I can hide it any longer.</p><p><b>Makoto: </b>What is it Futaba? You don’t normally talk to me about such things.</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>It’s about Ren… he lied to you, to all of us.</p><p>Makoto’s expression suddenly turned from curiosity to worry. What did she mean by Ren lying to her, to their friends? She began typing urgently, hoping that this wasn't something devastating</p><p><b>Makoto: </b> What is this about, Futaba? What <em> did </em>Ren do?</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>Oh come on, Makoto, I know you’re smarter than that. Did you really buy the whole Maruki giving us more time? I did some digging that night I found this… I know I said I wouldn’t wiretap Leblanc anymore, but this… it’s not right.</p><p>A sound file appeared under the message. Makoto made sure to look that Ren wasn’t making his way upstairs yet. With the coast clear, she put her phone close to her ear and played the file. She heard everything, she heard the fight Ren had with both Akechi and Sumire. She didn’t want to believe it, but there was no mistaking Ren’s voice. She felt hurt, but didn’t exactly know what to do about it, all she heard is what Ren decided to do, not why. There had to be a reason, she knew him better than anyone, there’s no way he would act so recklessly.</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>So what do we do now? Should I let the others know?</p><p><b>Makoto: </b>No, I think we should wait for a few days. I know it’s risking a lot of what we have done so far, but I want to know why he did it first. </p><p><b>Futaba: </b>You know Maruki's assimilation is only becoming more permanent the longer we stay put, right?</p><p>Makoto let out a frustrated sigh, "I know that Futaba, and it hurts just thinking about it because deep down I'll know it's not real…"</p><p>A single tear escaped her eye. She was quick to wipe it away, before looking back at the screen.</p><p><b>Makoto: </b>Yes I know… but I want to believe that Ren is doing this because he's putting us before himself, I know that maybe I'm in denial, but do you think Ren would so casually throw everything away like that?</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>You have a point, but if we do wait, what are we going to do in the meantime? </p><p><b>Makoto: </b>Where are Akechi and Sumire? </p><p><b>Futaba: </b>They disappeared about an hour ago according to the bug I planted on their phones, but my guess is they're holding off Maruki as long as they can, or at least slowing down the assimilation.</p><p><b>Makoto: </b>We'll have to rely on them for the time being. If things get worse for them we'll have to act without Ren and stop this ourselves…</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>Makoto… </p><p>A few minutes passed without response as the three dots along with Futaba's icon appeared on her screen. She'd rather not think about it, but maybe some space between her and Ren would be necessary if things didn't change for the better… She hated the idea, but she couldn't follow him in this reality.</p><p><b>Futaba: </b>We'll do it your way for now, but if things do get worse I'll alert the others immediately. So I hope you're ready for that. </p><p>Makoto sighed, "I hope so too, Futaba, I hope so too."</p><hr/><p>It was strange walking through the streets of Tokyo during the night. It was certainly much more busier than Minato had anticipated. Couple's holding hands, families taking their children out for nightly strolls and street performers filled the streets as he walked through Shibuya. He would have never seen something like this back at Port Island unless it was during the summer festival. Granted there was a live performance by Yukari at the nearby theater, but he doubted everyone was here for that.</p><p>In fact the more he looked at people, the more concerned he became. They just seemed happy, too happy. Not that he minded people enjoying themselves, but something about their smiles felt forced in a sense. It was unnatural, but maybe this was the effects of this alternate reality. And yet it didn't feel right, he wanted to do something, anything to free these people... But was it really his place to do so? He shook his head, he couldn't dwell on it right now. After all, he had a show to get to first—to go see her.</p><p>At the ticket booth he presented his ticket to the ticket holder. He was afraid that they might discover his was a fake, but much to his surprise he got in with no trouble. He really had to hand it to that Futaba girl, she was good at her hobby. A little while later and he was inside the theater room looking for his seat. </p><p>"It says here to look for row 3, seat number 5. 3-5, 3-5, 3-5…" he kept repeating to himself before finally finding the seat. It was close to the front too. It really was the perfect view. </p><p>Moments later the lights in the room dimmed as white lights focused on the stage. Suddenly multiple motorcycle engines revving and braking could be heard through the loudspeakers as the curtains pulled back. Multiple actors in differently colored suits suddenly jumped onto the stage all being led by a woman in a pink suit and small white cape.</p><p>"Alright feathermen, let's go!" she said in a determined voice. </p><p>Minato immediately recognized Yukari's voice underneath the masked warrior. However, he was interrupted by a sudden change in setting when smoke covered the stage along with small flashes of light to replicate a feel of fire. A villainous laugh came through as several actors dressed in oversized monster costumes surrounded all of the featherman.</p><p>"We're surrounded! Pink Argus what are we gonna do?!" asked the actor in the green suit.</p><p>"Stay calm, Green Argus! We'll break through this!"</p><p>On her signal the other feathermen drew their weapons and simultaneously attacked a single section of the enemies creating a large gap in their formation. Time flew by as they battled fiercely in the intense action. For a second as Minato watched Yukari struggle and he felt an urge to go help her, but he knew it was all part of the show. </p><p>Besides he was pretty sure he would be booed off stage if he intervened. Not necessarily the best first look if Yukari recognized him.</p><p>The performance went on as the finale approached. The featherman team had been beaten save for Yukari as one final monster remained. She was breathing heavily as it slowly approached preparing the final blow. </p><p>"So much for the featherman, you've all lost, prepare to meet your demise!" </p><p>"No, the only one losing today is you!" Yukari declared. She took off her helmet and threw it to the side before running and leaping over the various bodies of the enemies all while pulling back the string of her bow. She shot multiple arrows covered in a brilliant green glow as they landed on the enemy. It led up to the final blow as Yukari remained suspended in the air, charging one final attack.</p><p>"Final Strike! Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory!" </p><p>The arrow connected, creating a large blast of light as smoke effects once again took over with the enemy exploding to bits. The audience roared with thunderous applause as Yukari bowed to them. The other actors followed soon after.</p><p>"Thank you everyone! We're glad you enjoyed the show!" Yukari said to the crowd. "Join us for our next adventure! Until next time, Phoenix Ranger Featherman out!"</p><p>She blew a kiss to the crowd before disappearing behind the curtains. The theater room began to clear as the lights came back on to guide the audience outside. Minato however, decided to sneak away quietly and headed towards the backstage. A part of him knew this could end badly, but another part also told him that he should do this. </p><p>"The things I do for you, Yukari."</p><p>It had been a while since he last saw her face to face, but he couldn't help but be excited. He just hoped it would all pay off soon.</p><hr/><p>The backstage was brimming with staff as Yukari made her way to her room. Once she was there she had quickly changed out of her suit and into more regular clothes. As she was finishing up, she heard her assistant knock on her door. </p><p>"Miss Takeba, you have a caller on the line."</p><p>"Can it wait? I'm sorta busy right now," she said. </p><p>"Well, it's from Kirijo-san, she says it's important," the assistant replied. </p><p>"Tell her I'll call her back in a few minutes, just finishing up on changing my outfit!" </p><p>Yukari's attitude had suddenly changed. Whenever Mitsuru would call for anything "important" it usually meant something serious could be happening. She quickly redid her hair and reapplied some make up before heading outside and taking her phone from her assistant. She dialed Mitsuru's number quickly waiting as the line connected. </p><p>Seconds later Mitsuru picked up.</p><p>"Apologies for earlier, Yukari, I hadn't realized you were still busy with tonight's show," Mitsuru apologized.</p><p>"There's nothing to apologize for, Mitsuru. I actually just finished up today's performance, it'll be awhile before the next one," she said. "Anyway, what's this important thing you wanted to talk about?"</p><p>"Right, it's about shadows, there seems to be a sudden spike in activity near your area," she admitted. "I already dispatched Akihiko and Amada to investigate, but I thought I should alert you incase anything strange started happening."</p><p>"Shadows…? Right now?" Yukari groaned, she hated having to fight them still even after all these years. "Those things sure know when to be a pain, don't they?" </p><p>"I'm afraid you're right about that. We don't know exactly when they tend to appear, but we've noticed some patterns between 12 AM and 1 AM," Mitsuru said, her voice slowly becoming more alarmed. </p><p>"Wait isn't that like the Dark Hour?" Yukari asked, hoping to be wrong.</p><p>"Well, we don't know that yet, but it could possibly be it," she said, unsure of the cause. "We've noticed that they only appear at those times but very briefly, it could be that they're hidden in that hour."</p><p>"I don't like this… what could this mean for you know… Minato?" she asked worriedly. </p><p>"From what Elizabeth told us last time we met, it could be a different shadow nest all together, Yukari…" Mitsuru spoke in a saddened tone. "I don't mean to disregard your feelings, but there is a chance the two aren't related."</p><p>"Just like with the TV world then," Yukari said. </p><p>"I'm afraid so."</p><p>There was brief silence between them. Yukari for her part was both glad and annoyed at the same time. She hoped that maybe this meant she could see him again somehow, but annoyed that shadows would muddy it anyway. Though she knew better than to expect anything else, he was gone no matter how much she wished to see him. </p><p>Granted she was a lot better about it now then all those years ago, but still the feeling remained the same. She shook her head, she couldn't allow herself to become disheartened so easily.</p><p>"Anyway, Mitsuru, so what should I do now?" she asked as she prepared to leave her room. </p><p>"For now, just remain vigilant. We still don't know the cause and until we find that nest there isn't much we can do."</p><p>"Right, I'll be on the lookout then," she left her room and walked outside to the hallway. "Is there anything else?"</p><p>"Actually there is… and it isn't much better. Do you remember the apathy syndrome?" Mitsuru asked. </p><p>"Of course I do, is it back?" Yukari asked.</p><p>"No, but something similar has been happening in Tokyo, only this time people are inexplicably happy," Mitsuru paused, realizing the situation sounded more ridiculous when said out loud. "I know it sounds strange, but have you noticed the people around you? Has anyone felt like they're too happy?"</p><p>Yukari almost laughed at that. <em> Being too happy was suddenly a bad thing? </em> she thought to herself. </p><p>"Isn't that a bit of a stretch? People can be happy too, you know?" Yukari retorted her. </p><p>"I understand that, but the strange part about it is that it seems forced, like these people aren't acting normal," Mitsuru clarified. "Granted it hasn't affected everyone yet, but everyday more and more people seem to suddenly change. All I'm asking is that you're careful alright."</p><p>"I will, I promise," Yukari smiled. </p><p>She was getting ready to hang up when she suddenly spotted a familiar mop of blue hair. Her eyes widened in surprise, she was seeing things, there was no way that she saw was real. </p><p>"Mitsuru… I'll have to call you back. Something urgent just came up…"</p><p>"Urgent? Do you need some help?"</p><p>"No, that won't be necessary, I'll talk to you later!" </p><p>"Yukari wait-" the line clicked as Yukari hung up. </p><p>
  <em>Go to him. Don't think about it, just go. He's waiting for you. </em>
</p><p>Yukari stopped herself for a moment. <em>What was that just now, </em>she thought to herself. But before she could have a moment to think on it, he had already closed the distance between them. She looked at him with wide hazel eyes, holding her hand to her mouth in disbelief. This wasn't some sick prank someone would pull off right? The more she rubbed her eyes though the more she realized that all of this was real. She could still see him—she could see Minato. </p><p>"I'm not seeing things am I?" she asked, barely able to hold back the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. "Is it really you, Minato?"</p><p>"Y-you still remember me?" Minato asked. </p><p>She almost felt offended at the question. Her forget about him? <em>Never</em>. "What kind of question is that silly? Of course I still remember you, I never have or will forget you," Yukari said confidently. </p><p>"So you're not mad at me? You know for dying on you back then?" He asked.</p><p>"I never was you idiot," she said with a teary expression. "Sure I was upset and felt like the world hated me or that I was cursed… but I never blamed you for it."</p><p>Minato couldn't resist the urge anymore and hugged her tightly, catching the brunette off guard. Her eyes wide as she felt her tears cascade from her eyes. She slowly locked her arms around him and returned the gesture. </p><p>"I'm so sorry, for putting you through that, you didn't deserve any of that pain…" Minato apologized.</p><p>Yukari shook her head, "I just can't believe this is really happening right now, it's just been so long since then… I almost gave up and just hoped I'd meet you in heaven or something." Yukari said in a broken voice. </p><p>"You're telling me, I thought that if I somehow ever did come back I would never see you again…" Minato confessed. </p><p>They broke apart after a while as they smiled at each other. A part of Yukari really wanted to let loose and just kiss him right now, but knowing the media, she'd never hear the end of it. </p><p>"Why don't we catch up somewhere more quiet? The estate I'm staying at is nearby." Yukari offered.</p><p>"Estate?" Minato asked. </p><p>"A lot's changed in seven years Minato, but you know it's a Kirijo owned one," she giggled.</p><p>"Oh right," he laughed awkwardly. </p><p>"You're still you even after coming back," she said. "But, I'm happy, I wouldn't have it any other way."</p><p>"I'm happy too, Yukari, I missed you," he smiled warmly.</p><p>"I missed you too, Minato," she replied in kind. "Come on let's go before the swarm of cameras surround us."</p><p>Yukari guided him out of the building and with the help of her assistant they were able to avoid much of the outside noise. The car ride itself was rather quiet actually, it was strange at first but Minato quickly settled into the quiet atmosphere. It was enough just to feel Yukari at his side again. It had been so long since he felt this kind of warmth next to him. </p><p>When they arrived at the estate Yukari helped Minato inside. She guided him to the living room while she went off into the kitchen to prepare a small meal for the night. The feeling was still so surreal to Minato, to think that Yukari had greeted him with open arms. It made him feel like a fool for ever doubting how much she cared for him. </p><p>He had too little faith in her it seemed. If he could take back all those doubts he voiced to Amamiya-kun he would. She still loved him, even after leaving her behind with no explanation. He had to be honest with her though and tell her the truth eventually. Because as much as he wanted this to last forever, Erebus was still a very real threat to everyone, not just Yukari or their friends... </p><p>"So, how have you been Minato?" Yukari asked, getting Minato's attention.</p><p>Minato shook his head, <em>"just enjoy it,"</em> he heard a voice say and suddenly he found himself doing just that.</p><p>"Is that a trick question?" he finally replied, teasing her. </p><p>"Oh right, sorry about that," she apologized awkwardly. "It's just it's still all coming to me, you know with you being here and all."</p><p>"Can't say I don't feel the same way," he said. "What about you though? You seem to have changed the most."</p><p>"R-really?" she blushed. "I'll take your word for it, but…" she hesitated for a moment as she recalled the events of the past seven years. "It hasn't been easy to say the least. I've gotten better about it, but at first I ended up doing some things I'm not proud of…"</p><p>"Yukari… I'm so sorry, I hurt you more than I realized…" he quickly moved to comfort her. </p><p>"Don't. I'm okay now, and besides you did it to protect us right?" she asked. "But, anyway that's in the past, after that I motivated myself to be better, not just for me but in a way to give you comfort wherever you were."</p><p>"You didn't have to, but either way I'm proud of you, and I need you to know that you deserve more," he said. "I-"</p><p>He was quickly cut off by a kiss from the brunette. It was sudden, but he quickly found himself relaxing into it. They pulled away for a moment staring at each other with half-lidded eyes before resuming once more. </p><p>
  <em>"That's it, just give in."</em>
</p><p>Little by little they lost themselves in their kiss and embrace. It had been so long since they felt each other's touch that nothing could come between right now. Truth be told, they wanted to skip the formalities and pick up right where they had left off all those years. Besides they had the morning to catch up some more.</p><p>Minato got closer and closer before picking her up and carrying her bridal style to her room. They whispered low murmurs of "I love you" and "Don't let me go" on their way upstairs. Once there he laid her down gently on the bed before resuming their long kiss. Pieces of clothes came off one by one, until they were almost completely naked. Minato paused after a moment looking down at her beauty.</p><p>"Are you sure you want this?" He dared to ask. </p><p>"It's been seven long years, of course I do," she replied, eyes full of lust. "Besides, you're not getting away from me that quickly again."</p><p>Minato chuckled at that before leaning in and caressing her neck with pecks of his lips. The night went on without a hitch, just the two of them lost in their love for each other, completely oblivious to the night sky outside. Though for all they cared, only they mattered right now, and they were going to make the most of this night. </p><p>
  <em> Together. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you've been keeping up with my postings as of late you may have noticed that I was indeed writing just not for this project... Though for what it's worth this project will make it to the end. No worries, I'm not forcing myself to do this I just finally got back into it and I really do feel like writing for this again! </p><p>I can't promise consistent uploading, but I think updates will be more frequent than what I've lead you all to expect... Basically what I'm saying is that if you've been here since the prologue I'm so grateful for you and I hope I can continue to deliver with story!</p><p>With all of that being said I hope your excited for what's in store! Certain ship centric chapters are to be expected for this, (hint there was one that was alluded to in this chapter hehe)</p><p>Thanks for reading through all my rambling, it really means a lot if you made it this far. Until the next one, have a good day/night. See ya!</p>
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